Ebla, Syria

This hill is 40 km south of Aleppo. It is the site of important and recent archaeological discoveries. Excavations in the Tel (hill in Arabic) have revealed a very old civilization considered to be the oldest in Syria, that of Ebla, which flourished in the 3rd and 2nd millenniums BC.

In 1955 the discovery of a basalt altar, now on show in the Aleppo Museum, revealed the importance of Ebla. Subsequent archaeological expeditions uncovered a city surrounded by a circular inner wall with four great gates and outer fortifications containing towers.

The main streets extended from city walls to converge at the royal palace of King Aghrish. Clay tablets found in the palace have led archaeologists to conclude that Ebla was destroyed about 2250 BC.

In the palace of this great kingdom; Ebla's real treasure; a library of the Royal Archives containing more than 17,000 clay tablets was uncovered. These tablets; recording an important period in Syria history; are the earliest written documents in Syria, among these was the world's earliest bilingual dictionary.